Russia to take special measures if US withdraws from INF Treaty

Russia may prepare an adequate response if the United States decides to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, a Russian official said Tuesday.

An adequate response will be prepared in order to ensure security of Russia, including with the possibility of using its air defense systems, Frants Klintsevich, the first deputy chairman of Russia's Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, told RIA Novosti news agency.

"If the United States withdraw from the INF Treaty, Russia will surely take specific measures with the creation of similar weapons related to the intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles with a range of up to 1,500 kilometers," he said.

The comment came after the U.S. Senate passed a new defense policy on Monday authorizing the Defense Department to start developing a new cruise missile with a range of between 500 to 5,500 kilometers.

The INF Treaty was signed in 1987 by then Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev and former U.S. President Ronald Reagan to ban the development, deployment and testing of ground-launched ballistic or cruise missiles with ranges between 300 and 3,400 miles.

Moscow and Washington have repeatedly accused each other of violating the treaty.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)